This is an installment of Chris Yobb’s weekly column, “My Two Cents.”

A recent CNN poll shows that both Democrats and Republicans are unpopular in the eyes of the citizens of the United States. There are a few things that are sad about this. Neither one of the two major parties are popular, and unfortunately they are the only parties that produce candidates that have any shot at winning elections. Second and most importantly, no one is trying to do anything about this. People will continue to either vote Republican or Democrat because they feel as though any other person would not even have a chance. That mindset needs to change.

The modern day party system is broken. There is no possible way to align yourself with either of the two major parties 100 percent. There is not one person who can honestly say that they agree with all of the views of either party. The only reason candidates say that they do so is because they will gain the support of the party and the goods that follow.

This system is borderline impossible to fix. For the most part, society says you must choose a party affiliation. The media plays a big role in this too. If you turn on CNN or Fox News, it is easy to see which candidates they support without even having to say it. These news outlets push their own political agendas because they are funded to do so.

If things continue down the same path, we will never have a non-elitist represent us. The only politicians that we know of are the ones who can afford to get their names out in the public eye (with the help of big businesses and donors.) As much as a politician says they are representing the “little guy,” they contradict themselves by making back room deals with multi-billion dollar corporations. The people that are in power are among the one percent of Americans who hold all the wealth.

All these problems can be changed with a spark. Starting with local elections. Elect people for your local municipalities who you see most fit to do the job. Stop voting based on party and start voting based off of a candidates’ credentials. If a person says they are going to help the middle class, really take a look at their background and see if they can back it up. It is time we as citizens start to make some noise for what we know is right, instead of what is most popular.

Once we as Americans are able to separate ourselves from the party system, we will be able to thrive as a nation.

Vote for the person, not the party.

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